BAND-MAID / alone Reaction | Metal Musician Reacts
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- čas přidán 6. 09. 2024
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#BANDMAID #Alone
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In one of their tv interviews, Miku was, as usual, doing most of the talking in her inimitable high-energy, cute, charming and amusing way. She introduced the band and explained how she first found Kanami on the web and then linked up with the others. The musical talent of the band was already clear and the interviewer said Miku must have been pleased to find them all. Miku smiled, paused a little and said in a slightly quieter voice, 'kiseki po', a miracle po.
Miku, over the years, has grown as a musician ... it's been a great journey to watch ... from the cutest guitar holder to a solid rhythm guitarist ...
lol- guitar holder- great way to put it.
Maidiacs love our little pigeon! We love them all equally because they are all equally talented! Thanks for reacting to them!
Agreed. Miku is Band-Maid and Band-Maid is Miku. And more importantly all band members and an 810 year old small pigeon are in total agreement. Sacramento loves Band-Maid.
This was the first song their label _accepted,_ Kanami had dozens rejected as she honed that part of her craft.
@Shoe Metal
Really dozens ?
Kananmi is an amazing Songwriter Daydreaming is a Masterpiece
@@sheldoncooper8199 It's public knowledge that Mincho is a workhaolic... so that might be true! :D
Sheldon Cooper81 Its most probably way more than that. She was a solo singer-songwriter way before BM
And if you look at how they were releasing almost an album a year, consisting of close to 15 tracks each consistently. And that is excluding other side projects like band maiko and singles.
This is a very insane level of output, esp. considering their songs are never simple. Most artists just drop an album every 3-5 years and it might not even have 10 tracks.
It was to the point where the band members had to step in get her to slow down and stop overworking herself. Which is why for Conqueror, they took their time and seems like Akane and MISA also started to contribute more to the writing process since then.
If I recall correctly, Miku and Saiki talks in detail about this in one of those radio shows they often guest in.
@@sheldoncooper8199 Probably not directly refused. In LA Miku explained when it was time to record l would bring them a song and they would say no, no, no. And as she said that she wagged her forefinger back and forth. She continued and then they handed me a song and said you will record this and l said thank you. I saw this in person so l believe we are probably talking about three or four songs. But l also believe that if given the green light back then they could easily have put together a dozen rather quickly. Regards.
@@Dtagcity
Yes i never came across a Band with that much Output of that High Quality not during the past 20 years.
Normally its Write Songs 1 year
Tour 1 year. Write Songs 1 year
Tour 1 year.
Not with Band Maid.
Yes they are Songwriteing geniu ses.
Maybe they should take a brake for 1 year
to not exhaust their creativity and brains
One of my absolute favorite songs--BY ANYBODY!
Yes, both "secret MY lips" and "secret MAIKO lips" pls. Those are bangers!
Yup and in that order specifically....
Has to be in that order... It's International Pidgeon Law I believe....
yes
I'm not sure he's ready for Maiko yet
@@crapstirrer what's that mean? lol
茜のドラムの叩き方は良いクセがあって、ヤミツキになる。
メタルを何十年聞いて、プレーしてるけど、こんなドラムは唯一無二です。
叩いてる姿も美しい。
This solo was unrivaled in all their songs until Blooming.
And Daydreaming?. Along with Alone´s one it has always seemed the most intense to me. A melter of hearts.
YES, for me is the first of my top 5: Alone, Blooming (as you said), Order, Turn me on and Daydreaming
How about "matchless GUM"? The way Kanami starts the solo when Saiki is counting always gives me goosebumps. It may not be as intrincate of a solo as Alone's but it's damn intense.
@@leon_aviles Uff ...There are many variations of course, for example in Clang I love the entry of Kanami's solo, it is like a knife cutting the environment and leaves you perplexed and wanting more!
Miku is everything to the Fanbase. Band-Maid was her dream, and she worked extremely hard and surrounded herself with others who work extremely hard to make that dream come true. Even though she isn't always front and center, she is considered the face of the Band and is the glue that holds it all together. No Miku, No Band-Maid. There is an interview somewhere where Saiki even says that she is glad Miku is there to take the attention off of her so she can just focus on singing.
Yeah Miku seems to handle most of the talking in the group interviews and everyone seems to be happy letting her do it.
from the streamed Q&A.. Q: "what are you most proud of?" Miku: "the band members"
Boss pigeon. 🕊️✌️
Miku is loved by all of us. She is Band-Maid's spokespigeon and works very hard at promoting her creation. When she casts her spells you are a Band-Maidiac 4 Life
@@mintomacco Interestingly though, while Miku is the founder and face of the band, Akane is the de facto leader. I think I remember them commenting, during an interview, something along the lines of Akane being the most level-headed of the group :D
Miku is the hearth, will and ambition of the band. She isn't afraid of expose herself and take the cringe looks and the jokes without break the character, go day after day to promote the band in radios or tv shows, carry the hundreds of interviews always with the best spirit, make the difficult choices like step down when realize his voice wasn't powerful enough and casting Saiki to be the frontwoman or tell Kanami her lyrics were crap (true story) and begin writing herself, the strength to accept her weaknesses and her commitmen to learn and improve it's a rarity in a bussiness so full of egomaniacal morons. Kanami is the genius songwriter and her skills add to those of Misa, Akane and Saiki create great songs but is Kobato Miku, the least musically talent of the bunch (but not bad, and improving), who make them whole and I admire her for that. A truly force of nature.
Well said! Everyone of them is so important and Miku is my fav just for starting this amazing band! She is definitely the fighting spirit of the band.
I wouldn't call Miku 'the least musically talented.' She is a very talented vocalist in her own right. Her range is much broader than Saiki's, even though Saiki has the perfect vocal power for the band. Plus she had the hidden talent of a good guitarist which has continued to emerge thanks to her hard work and her great instructor. What she has had to do is fit her vocal talent (which would be more traditionally suited for idol singing) into Band-Maid's genre and get good at the difficult task of singing while playing guitar...which was something she was more than happy to do but leaves her with the designation of Jack of two musical trades, master of neither (yet). Her musical talent may not have fit as easily with Band-Maid's music, but it's there and it's significant. More of a 'talented fish from a different kind of water' deal.
@@tombworld9012 In her own way actually the most talented simply because she put it all together from literally nothing and with no help but from the people she recruited. She was the one who had the foresight and did whatever it took. Hell she had to lie to Saiki just to get her on stage. Small pigeon is boss.
@@sacluvsBM Well, the comment was directed solely at her musical talent and gave credit for her other talents...I only felt the need to defend her musical talent. Of course she's boss.
@@tombworld9012 It's just a comparative state inside Band Maid. She is the "least" only relative to the other members who are crazy good. Of course it's talented, but remember she was who bring Saiki because she know his voice was not enough, Saiki have a broad range (just listen their songs man) but Miku can't hit the high and rough tones, she has a more soft voice. I think her most valuable skill is the will to become better, that's something you don't find very often and with that the sky is the limit.
They are the band of many peoples dreams friend. They all are something special. even more so as a band
I watched an interview with Saiki and Miku, and they said that they were always writing songs but this was the first one that was accepted by a record company, that they let them put in on a recording. You wonder what we missed
Every time someone brings up any of the past songs they're all adamant that those songs are gone and will never be heard again. Not even parts of them... Kanami says its all good tho... just part of honing her craft. But yeah, I wonder what all we missed.
Love your band maid reactions and how in depth you go.
Quoted from reddit "Being the rhythm guitarist and the back up vocals, she is always going to have the 'smallest' stage presence. You also can't tell she's the lyricist or that she created the band by looking at her, you have to research that. So those achievements will be missed by a lot of people.
I don't think she gets enough credit for forming the band, I don't imagine bringing together a kick ass band AND convincing them to wear maid outfits is easy.
But I also think nearly everyone misses out that she must be pretty damn brave as well. She has Saiki be the primary lead singer, then she picks up guitar from scratch, knowing full well how good the other three musicians are and that on stage she'll be primarily seen as a guitarist."
Dude, how can anyone, looking at that face, smile and energy say "no" to Miku on anything? LOL Saiki is the prime example since she wasn't informed about the maid outfits prior to their fist live gig (granted that Miku gave her the less maid look now, but look at their outfits on the beggining) :D
@@SunGod80 Saiki has said Miku lied to her to get her on board but l promise you Saiki today is glad small pigeon did. I don't believe Saiki would own a condo in Tokyo if she had not been tricked into joining. All five of these women are inseparable. They are friends and they love each other. There is a lesson here for us all.
@@sacluvsBM Oh for sure! I just love the story of how they (Saiki and MISA) got "tricked" into joining the band without knowing about the costumes :D
If not for Miku there would not be BAND-MAID
I’ve been a huge fan of akane since from the start but since I learned this bandmaid hats down to miku and changed it to miku no bias but miku’s hard work payed the price! After all..
Band-Maid is MGR - Multi Genre Rock. You're gonna hear all the rock genres in their compositions from Punk, Metal, Prog, and Pop... to Blues, Funk and Grunge - not to mention their mid tempo, acoustic and cultural (Band-Maiko) classics. Nothing like em', Champ!
Everybody loves crazy Akane's drum, grooving Misa's bass, phenomenal Kanami's guitar, strong Saiki's vocal.
But we know "No Miku, No BAND-MAID".
She keeps the sounds together like glue.
"Secret My Lips" is the best to analyze. I'm waiting for.
Don't worry, Miku gets crazy love and respect from the fans. She's the Mother of all Maids after all. I totally am with you when it comes to her vocals...she adds so much to the songs when she's clearly audible.
Mother of all Maids. Great line.I can see the T with little pigeon jammin her guitar.
@erumi36
I Love Miku without her Band Maid wouldnt exist. She s the mother and she writes many the Lyrics i believe.
Everyone outside of Japan seems to forget Miku is the lyricist. Kanami and Miku are the songwriting duo of Band-Maid.
@@me262talon2 ....if you knew what T. and the Little Pigeon meant to me, this comment of yours would take on 33X the Meaning :)
@@t-shinji because they are not use to bands who write, arrange and perform their own original material. Bands like that are almost non existent.
The first time I saw this is when Akane became Best-Maid for me! I loved her work before, but, this is just a whole other level of brilliance! Absolutely, the whole band shines on this track for sure and after a song like this I am sure the label powers were more than happy to turn them loose on the world. But, the way Akane went about the drumming here is just crazy smart and talented. It's like she fit drum parts at different times to match what her band mates were doing. She seems to purposefully enhance Misa's solo riffing, Kanami's solo and the pre Kanami solo Saiki intro. That shit don't happen by accident gang! If there are any Akane Naysayers out there, Fu, I'll take Akane on the kit any and every day!! She is just that good!
Akane is good enough that Jimmy Page asked to take a picture with her in 2016, the picture is out on the web, I use it as my background on my phone, members from my 2 favorite bands.
Thanks for telling that story correctly. Somehow it became way overly embellished to the point that Jimmy Page was singing her praises and invoking certain names to honor her! I mean c’mon, just to be approached for a photo by Mr. Page is praise enough!💪🏻🤘🏻
Thats how I became aware of BM - checking out JP in a show in Japan with Jeff Beck, and saw the pic... then off to youtube for the video THRILL. What a ride! thanks, Jimmy :)
@@bigbrutalbassbeer410 That added embellishment was from a meme on the band's homepage which stated Mr. Page was heard saying Akane was the reincarnation of John Bonham. Completely unsubstantiated and whatever conversation they had was unheard by anyone but Jimmy and Akane. What we do know is that after Band-Maid performed Jimmy sought her out and in their dressing room the initial thought was someone was playing a joke on them. It wasn't. Jimmy could meet or not meet anyone he might choose and he only sought out Akane and no one else. Akane said later on the band's website "Jimmy Page-San offered me many words of encouragement and I promised him l would do my very best to live up to his kind words. What actually happened is impressive enough without any embellishments. Catch their live show this Sunday on CZcams for as little as $9 US if you join the homepage fanclub first. Sacramento loves Band-Maid. Enjoy the show.
david c
Wow, that’s a fantastic connection! Way better than my curious, random click thanks to a soulless algorithm years ago.💪🏻🤘🏻
Here amp.reddit.com/r/BandMaid/comments/bjs0qq/jimmy_page_just_after_seeing_the_band_play_in/
I look forward to it every time. It's wonderful that you really understand the good points of BAND-MAID.
Secret my Lips is the original; Secret Maiko Lips is a modified version they released on April Fools Day a couple years ago. Both good, but listen to the original first!
Miku is the heart, soul and energy of Band Maid. Without her, they wouldn't exist. And yep, Akane always introduces and sets the tone in advance for every part of every song in the breaks between sections. A pause, a roll or flourish, and off we go again in another unexpected direction. Outstanding.
If the band had a soul, imo it would be Kanami. She writes the music. When the band wants a new song, they go to Kanami. Each of the women add their magic to Kanami's base composition, which they send back to Kanami. But it's a different matter entirely between composing a song, and spicing up the base lines, adding lyrics, etc. All the new music were hoping from Band Maid rests lopsidedly on Kanami's shoulders (many bands have more than one songwriter). There's a vid out with the women at "band camp." In it there's a scene that is emblematic of the band I think. It's morning in the studio/living quarters, and Akane is cooking for the women, while Miku is recording everything on her (I think) phone. Misa and Saiki are still sleeping, as Miku and Akane try to rouse them up. Meanwhile, Kanami is already downstairs in the studio working on her DAW; Miku and Akane later go down into the studio to check out gear but stay clear of Mincho. That said, I don't think Band Maid would be where they are without each of these amazing women; each is irreplaceable for the whole thing to work as it does.
@@drogonr9318 Many bands have more than one songwriter? Sure enough. The Stones have Jagger-Richards and the Beatles had Lennon-McCartney. Band-Maid has Kobato-Tono. That is more than one. What Band-Maid does not have is an idol system behind them writing their music for them. Band-Maid is the antithesis of an idol band.
@@sacluvsBM This is true. Kobato's role as the band's lyricist should be highlighted. Let's hope the band remains on a creative arc that will land them in with the legends. I'm loving the ride so far.
@@drogonr9318 Me, too. Creativity wise l never thought l would see it twice in one lifetime. Can't wait for the show Sunday. Very best regards.
Mid way through Kanami's solo there is a cut away to Miku throwing her head back and its almost as if shes saying to her little pigeon spirit 'We've Made It'...
Yes, I mentioned Secret My Lips and then Secret Maiko Lips as a double reaction. This song is essential early Band-Maid in my opinion, along with some others, but most of them have been removed from youtube...like Matchless Gum and Awkward.
Yeah, just listen to them continuously in order. Get to feel ur heart heavy and heavier in some segment of maiko lips.
I really think they'd been storing it all up for a long time and when Kanami pulled out some compositional gold, they all jumped on it. And proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that they didn't need any help with the songwriting. Thanks again for all the intelligent commentary.
I don't know about pop punk, mate, but to a 68 year old aging rocker like me, that was pure rock n roll.
Thank you for your in-depth reactions. I appreciate how you go into the songs and really help the average music fan get a better understanding of what we are hearing. You have a new fan sir well done
BAND-MAID is doing another online jam on the 16th of AUG... FIY !!! See you all there.
I will never ever complain about Akane love. She is the best out there that I've heard.
Secret My Lips/Secret Maiko Lips wouldn't be a bad place to go next. Personally, I would go with Blooming or Glory next because I love both of those songs, but hopefully you will get to them all eventually.
I freaking love Akane's drumming...never ever boring
@@user-tf2wd1eh3g and just when is MISA boring ???????????????????????????????????
@@DavidMISAMISAMISACook I was just talking about drummers, not the band.
@@user-tf2wd1eh3g Sorry misunderstood lol
I often wonder if Miku truly realizes just how absurdly lucky she is to have had all that talent basically fall into her lap with how the band was formed.
Yes, Miku is lucky. But i think the other is very lucky that miku find them.
Because miku is writing their lyrics, kanami can focus on write a song without caring about the lyrics. Kanami just sent the demo to miku without explaining anything about the song and let miku figure it out on her own.
Because miku is a great front woman, saiki just have to focus on her singing. Saiki said that she doesn't like to stand out so she is glad that there's miku for it.
And the most important in my opinion is because miku have a high self awareness and doesn't have a big ego, she's willing to do a lot of things for the band.
Oh she knows, you can see it on her face in some of the live videos. But I don't think it's fair to say it was all just good luck. The quote “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.” definitely applies to someone who is as driven and hardworking as Miku.
And sometimes it was the right pieces falling into place. Misa came from a band that was disbanding when she was recruited by Akane. Or even the side project of Akane and Kanami (Mochi and Cheese) didn't really take off. Would they be better if they were separate? We don't know. But we were glad the band was formed.
It was fun listening to the commentary on their latest concert.
The universe opens like a flower to the true heart.
Miku is the John, Paul AND George Martin of Band-Maid. Her 'lack' of wild instrumental skills is not a factor in terms of how much she is appreciated!
Don´t know if somebody mentioned it before... They are doing an online liveshow at the 16th August, it´s not expensive (12€, don´t know in $), maybe you or others are interested...
You can say me if it´s fine to post the link here... Don´t wanna do it without your permission, champ. These ladies need attention! Nice reaction like always, stay healthy everyone!
P.S.: That Akane picture and the music to appreciate her, caught me offguard, that was NICE editing! LOL
It is $14.07 USD.
Edit* that was a direct conversion from €.
But from ¥1,500 it is actually $14.14 this is for General audiences. If you're in the Fanclub it is ¥1,000 which is $9.43
I'll be watching man! I am so ready for it! It'll be 3am here but its the only reason I drag myself out at that hour. All these girls are amazing and beyond talented. Deserve all the praise in the world.
Got my ticket already lol can’t wait
It is $15 and change for U.S.
@@HALberdier17 l paid in total $14.23 by debit card. If you use PayPal or a credit card there are probably a few pennies difference in price. It is not much. See you at the show.
From some of the interviews I have read Kanami writes the original structure and guitar parts to the lyrics. Then she sends copies to Akane and MISA, they create and record their parts and send them back to Kanami. Kanami combines all of the parts to a master then they get together live and work out the final product.
Other cool facts: originally Akane could not play double kick at the speed she does now - She said she thought what Kanami was writing needed a faster speed for her kicks and she worked on increasing her speed - even having pedals at her dining table to practice while she ate her meals.
MISA switched to 5 string because she thought the music needed a lower range than her 4 string could provide.
It's my favourite Band-Maid song. The chorus just SOARS. And then there's Kanami.
Akane show brought the world by Kobato Miku. What a gift..
Great reaction review ty.
miku is the first in her mind to create such a bandmaid, thx to her for finding kanami thru internet and gathering all members, she's the first main engine (face of the group) and also write all bandmaid lyric after bandmaid start arange their songs. so no one discredit her instead gave an fully respect to everything she's doing till now. NEXT BANDMAD - RINNE (Reincarnation) MV
I have been following this band since January 2017 and l am one of the lucky few, about 7,000 total over their three visits to the US, who have seen them play here in the states. That was last September in LA. I have been to over 300 shows in my life with my first concert being the Doors playing second bill to the Seeds in October 1966 and the last show l saw was Aftershock here in Sacramento last October 13th with Tool, Korn and Babymetal. The only show l remember seeing that was the equal to or perhaps slightly better was Hendrix and the Experience at CalExpo in 1970. The only one. These ladies are beyond special in more ways than you can count. You can see them do their magic here on CZcams on August 16th in their second crowdless concert which will cost you $14 US or join the homepage fanclub first and it will cost $9 US. You also can gain archive access for two months for $28. The upcoming show at Zepp Haneda is the second makeup show for five previously cancelled Zepp shows. Alone was Band-Maid's first song to be recorded that was entirely Band-Maid's own creation. Lyrics by Miku, music by Kanami and arranged by Band-Maid. Creatively they haven't looked back since. And it was the song that sent me falling down the rabbit hole. If you are any kind of fan of hard rock l urge you to check them out. You never will spend $9 for something better. That much l promise you. Sacramento loves Band-Maid.
Thats what makes this Solo its sounds like a Power Metal Solo in a Pop Punk Song.
Definitely a double reaction to "Secret My Lips" and its April Fool's version "Secret Maiko Lips" would be awesome!
'Alone' is a song that they made for themselves for the first time, so they usually never cut corners, but this song is Perfect Plus I think. We can feel their enthusiasm.🙇♂️🙇♂️🙇♂️
YAS! I have been waiting for you to review this song. It's one of my favorites BECAUSE of the strong pop-punk sound (I LOVE pop-punk). Some folks may not want to hear it, but pop-punk is an integral ingredient to the Band-Maid sound. It is in their DNA and can be heard in many of their songs to a greater or lesser degree (and their very first album was pretty much a pop/pop-punk album). And while pop-punk can be rather simplistic (as you alluded to) it can also be very complex if you do it right, and the Maids do it right. It's also funny that if you change a lot of heavy metal bands songs from minor key to major key, it instantly sounds like pop-punk. ;o)
As for your thought about doing Secret MY Lips/Secret Maiko Lips, I have one thing to say: DO IT! You won't be sorry. That is one of their songwriting gems. BUT you have to listen to it in the correct order: the normal studio version FIRST (and the official MV that is still up is the studio version overlayed onto live concert footage), THEN the Band-Maiko version. The reason why is that they are subtly and not so subtly different and you really need to have a frame of reference to fully appreciate what the ladies did.....all in the name of a very elaborate April Fool's prank.
I did not realize how right you are about this being Akane's song until I watched this live performance after your reaction czcams.com/video/Eqwo40Io_Q8/video.html , this was a live performance at Comic con in London, 2016. The audio was recorded from Kanami's side of the stage, by a fan, you could barely hear the singing or the bass, but you could clearly hear Akane's drumming, man did she kill it, Thanks Champ! For pointing that out!
is a MUST react to this comic con live footage!
Despite of her amazing punches on that drums (yea she really nailed it), for me alone is one of their songs that really work well even without those glam-"hard-rock/heavy" sound setting. Punk vibes.
Yes, I think you're ready for Secret My Lips and Secret Maiko Lips (in that order). I'm not going to go into details, but I'm sure you'll enjoy it. We'll talk more after the reaction.
Honestly I think you'd really enjoy the MVs for either Blooming or Rinne. Blooming is a group effort on the part of all the members, writing portions of it, and Rinne just goes amazingly hard. And to be honest, Akane goes nuts in both of them.
this is one of my favorite band-maid songs...and it's the first time i've actually watched the mv. (fake fan alert...lel)
the first time i heard this song though was during a live performance and i loved it so much, i just always fall back to watching that when i want to listen to it. just never thought to go and actually watch the mv. fun video, too.
whether you do a react to it or not, definitely try and find a live version of this though. it sounds so good live, you'd want to hear it for sure. sounds so good period, but you know what i mean. i also forget how 'old' this song is for them. you can just kind of see them still finding their various styles, how they like to perform/play. which is not a bad thing. just emphasizing how much you can tell they've grown and matured into the amazing musicians we know today. really cool to see the growth.
thanks for another fun react. look forward to more.
(sidenote, i love band-maid, but hope we get another lovebites react soon)
FYI: Miku is the Lyricist-in-Chief of the band ...
Small pigeon is boss. She just doesn't act like it and she knows how to delegate.
YEEEES Secret MY Lips and then Secret MAIKO Lips. You will not regret it man!
It is amazing how Miku started this band. Finding Kanami thru the internet. Kanami's music relationship with Akane. Akane knew Misa because they attended the same music school. Then Miku having Saiki be the lead singer because she probably knew that Saiki had the right tone for the bands Rock sound and her voice was on the J-pop side. Their style of music is a breath of fresh air to this old rock 'n roller from the 70's. Your reactions are one of the best because of your breakdowns
After Alone on the Brand New Maid album, the first four songs on Just Bring It are Don´t you Tell Me, Puzzle, Moratorium and Yolo, in a powerful creative deployment impossible to foresee in a band that was just beginning to compose... Kanami's creative genius was on the loose in town ...
The Secret My Lips - Secret Maiko Lips combo (in that order) sounds like tremendous fun for your channel. I don't think I remember anyone who has done it so far.
For the live version of this song, I recommend the one @ ComicCon London 2016. It's a backstage shot angle with Akane as the focus, it really allows you to appreciate her craft. The youtube link as follows:
Eqwo40Io_Q8
Yes, there’s much more to BAND-MAID’s punky side than Akane crowd surfing through a Dizzy Sunfist set.
Dude! That's awesome! Is there a video of that!?
Ethan Gospodareck I’ve just seen a few stills. Here’s one.
media.discordapp.net/attachments/370572840438595588/685166064988192779/4ipe943mw4j31.png
yeah Kanami has always been a writer. Like Shoe says, just the first one got thru. No wonder , this a beautifully constructed song , with hooks all over the place
If you want to hear more of Miku singing check out "Rock In Me"
And "Time". Both are great Miku songs.
And don’t forget the introduction to “Rock in Me” Miku’s magic time always good to see her get the crowd going
I don't know if he's ready for Omajinai Time...
My favorite is "The Beauty and the Beast"
Apart from creating the band, the image, the style, doing the backing vocals and rhythm, Miku also writes 80% of the lyrics....There be NO Band Maid without her!!!
Amen.
She does all the mundane and non spectacular jobs so everyone else gets to shine!
Miku does the publicity, gave up being the lead singer, learned to play the guitar whilst recording and touring and promoting. And if you leave out the simple things she does with sonic's, there would be a big hole in the sound.
And designs the costumes.
This is my favorite guitar solo...probably in any rock song ever. It's so goddamned perfect, both as a standalone piece and even moreso in the song. The song is all about being trapped in a terrible relationship, and that solo feels like finally ripping the band-aid off and flying free after being trapped for so long. Gives me goosebumps every time.
BTW, the Secret My Lips/Secret Maiko Lips thing requires a really deep dive to appreciate the difference. I'm not gonna pretend to understand it myself, but from my research, the second version (with them all dressed up as Maikos...which are basically Geisha in training) was released for April Fools and is the same song with traditional Japanese instruments backing the normal instruments and altered lyrics that are sung in a more formal Japanese dialect with a few shots at the haters.
"Secret My Lips" is next.
IF You want to hear another Song by Band Maid with AMAZING Akane drumming and a great guitar Solo you gotto watch Bubble Official video.
It among my Top 5 Band Maid Songs with Daydreaming and Alone and Puzzle and Yolo.
There is a long reddit post about Mikus lyrics, well worth a reading:
www.reddit.com/r/BandMaid/comments/hfc9mt/why_miku_is_a_great_lyricist/
Miku does a lot of the work in the background.
long wall of text ahead, maybe someone will read it... if you think that some of it is BS, let me know, correct me.
An "extended" backstory, mostly collected from interviews over the years and puzzling it all together. They do give a lot of interviews, but you kinda have to read the various pieces to get the picture, like always.
part 1:
Miku grew up in the province, in a somewhat troubled family. Father left when she was very young and her mom struggled to get them through (hard working but on the lower-income side, as I understand it). Miku decided that she want something better in life, and maybe try to get into the music industry, so she just packed and went to Tokyo. Worked multiple jobs at the same time, just to make enough for a living. She did somehow manage to be a part in a 3-girl "underground" idol-group. The group released 3 singles, did a couple small live gigs, it didn't work out and they disbanded. Even while (and before) being part of the idol-group she worked multiple jobs just to stay in Tokyo, - (at least) one of them being a maid in a "Maid-Cafe". And, jeez, puts she everything she learned there to good use, her entertainment skills are really good. After the group was done, Miku however must have made an impression, so the label-management decided to continue working with her. They sit down to discuss her future, decide it would be best to create a new band with her as lead vocalist. Keep in mind it's a somewhat small indie label, so they probably just didn't want her go "solo". And as I understand - for some reason - they let her come up with a proposal herself. So she comes up with the cute "maid"-theme, playing rock-music (in her mind "rock-music" being very "pop"-punkish). If you are familiar with japanese bands like "Babymetal" - in Japan - if you are not seen, not interesting enough, you won't be heard. B-M is a japanese band, made for japanese audience, they never expected their success in overseas. A lot of bands have some kind of "lore" going on ("Babymetal" Fox-god, or something other, visual-k etc). So she comes up with some silliest nonsense possible, like a 810-years-old pigeon renting space in her head, her being a little pigeon (Miku Kobato is a stage name if you didn't know...).
She finds Kanami on the internet, who was playing guitar and singing her cover-songs. They meet, Kanami liked her, likes the concept and thinks it's worth trying. Kanami, besides Miku, is also the one, who is completely down on the Maid-outfits - if it's cute, she will wear it :) Kanami asks Akane (they played together before). Akane was working as a waitress in a Jazz-bar, which just went out-of-business, so she needed a new job desperately. She was hesitant on the uniforms, but agreed to try (and she needed the money anyway). She asked MISA, who was also not sold on the concept, but her previous band just disbanded and it was Akane asking after all (they were friends before B-M), so she trusted her. They did try a couple songs together and even a couple live performances, and Miku realized, her voice not being powerful enough and wanted to bring in a second vocalist. Honestly, hearing their early work, she and Saiki sounded nearly the same, so who knows if she was already thinking about their future sound or she just wanted someone on her side. Remember, she was in a group before, and being Maid in the cafe is also kinda a group-effort, so maybe she didn't have the power to go through a whole gig alone. One of the label managers pointed to Saki, who was under the same agency as B-M. Looking at it, now, after all the interviews over the years, I think - the dude just saw the potential in Saiki, but they didn't knew how to work with her. She has an attitude ;) If she doesn't like someone - she shows it very directly. How do you promote a "solo" singer, who just refuses doing PR work at all :D Miku liked Saikis voice, so they contacted her officially, not as B-M, but through the label. They did held an audition, so if Saiki would have suck in the audition, they would have decided for someone else. She didn't suck. Saiki gets to hear the demo tapes, meets Akane, Kanami and MISA. She does not know about the uniforms (the manager hinted she would refuse if she did) nor does she meet Miku before their first rehearsal together.
part 2:
Miku and Saiki are both "alpha"-characters, so Miku just goes full Kobato ("pigeon"-talk and appearance/mannerism, probably just to make clear where this will be going) on Saiki and she gets her uniform. Saiki - not unlike Miku - is also from a somewhat lower-income family. Her mom just "dragged" her into various bars as a child, mom having a drink with friends, and little-Saiki singing sad-sad Pop-songs for them... So - both raised by dominant, strong "no-bs" mothers. Saiki and Miku clashed with each other regularly in the beginning. I think, most of it would be on Saiki though. She was supposed to be "the singer", the lead, had problems with Miku as a person and as a "mascot", disliked MISAs and Kanamis solo sections (she came from the pop side after all and wasn't used to it at all, the band getting that much spotlight). Saiki also commented that her family was also making a little fun at her ("ooooh our Saiki singing in a band now - in a MAID UNIFORM"). Miku somehow managed to keep them together. You might also see someone mentioning Akane being "the leader". Everytime I see it mentioned, Miku just appears in the background going Thor ("of course... of course..."). They told/mentioned in some interviews, that in the beginning, MISA, Saiki and Miku were always late for Band-practice. Kanami is the only one of the members who grew up in a somewhat upper-middle-class (wealthy) family. She is very well raised, is very polite, soft-spoken - "a princess in a box", how the others described her, or "lives in her bubble". The others goof around a lot, aren't very modest and throw dirty "adult" jokes at each other - which Kanami doesn't get most of the time. She always wanted to get into music. Her parents weren't that happy, so she actually graduated something Business/Economy in the university, just to have something as a fallback. But music is what she wanted. And she is a workaholic, puts a lot pressure on herself and expects the same from the others. Well, the others didn't seem to take it very seriously. So one day all three of them were reeally late, she just exploded - or as the three told it "ooh little Kanami cried! hahaha". So Akane was tasked with the job of scheduling their rehearsals, meetings etc. She is the easiest one to talk to, she is never bitching, the only extrovert of the bunch - and she wasn't part of the conflict. PR-work is still mostly done by Miku, because as it turns out, Akane might be the talkative and "normal" of them - but, she has no f'ng clue what to say in official PR and interviews; she begins to talk and goes off-road very fast, not exactly what you need in those situations. Akane is the joker in the band, is very outgoing and has a lot of friends, the other four are introverts, very shy, very reserved (MISA esp).
They did manage to sort out the silly stuff pretty early on, like "who is the best looking one" - MISA was over-voted 4:1, and they still have a habit to touch her butt before live-performances for good luck :D
Miku in real-life is completely different from her stage-persona (she is the only one, who goes full in-character; the other 4 are most likely the same as in real-life, but "pumped-up" by the live-performance). They did describe her as an "old-man", eating dryed-fish, betting on horse-racing, playing poker, stuff old-people do. But also as very smart, very tough to deal with in business/contracts, very focused, and just absolutely reliable - want something to get done, ask Miku, or better, let her do it. So internally and for their label she was always the one to talk to. What also might explain her occasional involvement in lyrics and writing process even on their earlier songs. She is the one pulling the strings. However, the lack of "real" success was becoming a problem. As you might heard/read before "Thrill" they were thinking to call it quits. MISA was unhappy with the music they played (too poppy, too "soft"), Saiki was not having her actual position, hated the uniform, Mikus insistence on the maid-theme (also her MCs and Omajinai-Time-Breaks) and disliked the focus on the instrumentals. And Kanami... The biggest wish for Kanami was to be recognized as a song-writer, not only as a guitarist. They wrote a lot of songs themselves, but all were rejected by the label. And Miku most likely promised her otherwise in the beginning; and kept encouraging her to try again. It's also very possible that the label just wanted that "SCANDAL"-success and relentlessly insisted going that route. So after "Thrill" was such an unexpected success, it gave them new energy to not give up, and after "Alone" it was just their wake-up call. All of them saw, that they had, had confidence that it will work out and pushed it (and still pushing it).
Miku is commited to the maid-theme, she wants to have that cutesy-look. There are a lot of videos, photos of her in her normal daily-life outfit. She is just gorgeous, very different looking. So it's all her choice.
Shortly after the release of their "own" album ("Just bring it") MISA, Kanami and Akane go on saying that they are very happy now, and expressed their commitment to the band and its future. Saiki realized overtime, how much the others benefit her - Miku is pretty much carrying the interviews, all the PR work - so she doesn't have to deal with that, the (Kanami-) solos actually work in her favor. She gets her breaks, so she can actually perform longer gigs. Nowadays she just gives "precise" directions for their set-list ("... and here you two - MISA & Kanami - do your thing ..."). The others value her opinion on everything they do (she calls it if a song is considered "finished" afterall). Miku and her came to really like each other, visiting and betting on horse-racing together etc. They do most interviews together and although, Miku is mostly the most talking one, it's far from yesterday, were Miku was desperately trying to get them to talk - and they just... didn't (Saikis empty stare is phanomenal though). Miku is still the main force promoting the band, but Saiki has gotten A LOT better at this. Same goes for the other members. In an interview with Saiki (Miku wasn't on her side) in 2018, she actually said - for the first time (?) - how important Miku is for her. She doesn't know how and also doesn't want to deal with some stuff, so she completely relies on Miku and just trusts her. And vice-versa. She still ignores Mikus "pigeon"-thing, but just lets her do her thing, because she realizes that it's working.
part 3:
Miku did drop "World Domination" as their goal every once in a while even in the early days. But she did it while laughing and/or besides her crazy pigeon talk, in a very tongue-in-cheek manner. She was never really joking.
Taking so many steps back, pushing her own ego back, learning guitar - and still doing live shows regularly - takes some balls, or wide shoulders in this case. What Miku definitely doesn't lack is dedication. And she actually got really good on the guitar. Vocally there is also a big difference to yesterday (same goes for Saiki; vocally both of them beefed up big time over the years). She is an frickin Duracell-Bunny. She manages to do MC, her alone-entertainer "Omajinai-Time" breaks during live shows, interact with the (foreign) audience, speaking very little broken english and still make it very enjoyable. Her comedic timing is on point. The cutesy image helps a lot with that and she knows how to use it to her advantage.
At the time they released "Conqueror" and there was a special edition of it with DVD/BD extra of playthrough videos for DICE, Domination and Onset. You can set the angle to set the camera on each member individually... She was asked about it in an interview, and she said - "well, our three band-musicians and I went to the studio to record ..." - the interviewer was confused "what do you mean the musicians? don't you play guitar?" - she stopped for a moment, and then corrected herself - "well, everyone but Saiki went to the studio...". A prime example of who she is imo.
This might sound very Saiki-critical. It's not. Saiki is just someone, who says directly to your face if she doesn't like you or something about you. She doesn't play around. If you don't grab her interest or curiosity - even if she doesn't outright say it, she will let you know. Everyone who has seen interviews with her, knows what i'm talking about, she goes full-"ignore"-mode sometimes. But if she knows you, and likes you - she will make you feel it. For example, on the "Shibuya"-DVD in the "behind-the-scenes", you can see her being very lovely with the other band-members. There are a couple scenes where Miku is interviewed, and in the background you can see Saiki laying on MISA, hugging her. And it looks like she is not doing it to comfort MISA, rather she finds comfort herself in doing so. Or some recent interviews, she really enjoys the other members company. Takes some time to warm-up, but when she does - she is all in. Just how she is. Her hugely improved stage presence over the years also shows it. Looks like she's found her comfort place.
B-M did comment that - have they met each other in school - they would've never become friends. Now they are very close to each other, sometimes crazy unusual, like a family. The band-members have kind of a competition going on - but it's not about being the best of them, it's more about not to be the one who's holding them back, pushing each other.
Saiki and MISA do go out together for a drink, as both enjoy drinking. Miku occasionally joins, and drinks both under the table...
(Akane and Kanami both can't handle alcohol very well, Miku finishes their drinks... and Akane their food)
There was one interview, where all the members were talkative. It was audio only and done in their backstage-room by Miku. Having no cameras or other people around they constantly forgot about it being an "interview", fooled around, and Miku just "asked" each one something from time to time...
also MISA doesn't talk much at all. Not to non-band-members at least. There were a couple exceptions. The interviewer was a very knowledgeable guy, it was audio-only, no camera, they focused completely on music and instruments - and she just goes off. I guess she simply dislikes talking nonsense - like Saiki ;D
She is the second "joker" of the bunch, with Akane. Unlike Akane, I think she is more the low-key-sarcastic trolling type
Probably the best interviews of them can be found translated on reddit, worth a reading:
Saiki - www.reddit.com/r/BandMaid/comments/cbf5p9/translated_saikis_interview_from_the_day_before/
Miku - www.reddit.com/r/BandMaid/comments/c62pns/translated_attempted_mikus_interview_in_the_day/
... and the links to Akane, Kanami and MISA are at the top of those ...
Hell yes! We love BAND-MAIKO! A Secret MAIKO Lips vid would be a lot of fun, I think. You might like it enough to also do their song Gion-Cho.
Thanks Champ! always appreciate your breakdowns.
Great reaction as always! Secrets My Lips is a song that I think would interest you as a songwriter (Secret Maiko Lips is the April's Fools version of it); both are amazing. Yolo is another song you'd enjoy from a songwriting perspective; this song may be earlier than Alone as far as Band Maid compositions go, as Kanami wrote it prior to joining Band Maid. I'd recommend the MV of Yolo on their YT channel.
As usual Champ, another great reaction. May I suggest "Daydreaming". It is is yet another little bit of a different direction for them with what many have said to be Kanami's best solo.
Yes please!
She wrote Daydreaming for Saiki... she definitely put her heart into it. I can hear it...
@@chrisbergsten1429 Akane has the bombastic sound of Keith Moon, but with the precision and deliberateness of Neil Peart.
Yes i agree. Daydreaming solo is so melodic
I'm not sure if i ever mentioned it but, Kanami is my queen!
As much as I love all the members of the band, I agree with you on Kanami.
Of course!, my heart belongs to her.
if you can find it there is a video side stage focused on akane from a comiccon you can't really hear the vocals but it is worth a look to watch akane just go crazy
Check livinimmortal's comment 👍 pretty sure its the one you're referring to.
Definitely do Secret My Lips and Secret MAIKO Lips. Would also love to see you check out Endless Story (a lot more of a rock anthem/arena sing-a-long style song), as well as Rinne (their heaviest song so far)
Love the reaction. And Secret My Lips next!! Akane absolutely drives that song as well :D
Everyone loves Miku. She’s the heart of the band. Where do think all the fun comes from?
I feel like on first listens, ppl forget about miku because the other 4 are so prominent with their intstruments and voices. However the more you learn about the band, you realize miku is band maid. I can’t help but feel inspiration when I see her perform. It’s a triumph. And I feel like she might be the hardest working member at concerts. She’s always doing stuff to give other members breaks. Does she ever take a break????
Also at this point after seeing thrill and alone, you could probably react to any song in any order but secret my lips and secret maiko lips are a good choice! Blooming though....masterpiece
Could not agree more.
Another good back to back would be the 2018 Zepp live videos of Turn me on/Don't you tell me... With all the back and forth between Misa and Kanami. So deliciously good!
Not trying to muddy the waters, just saying... Seriously though, they don't have any bad songs so break them down in what ever order you want. I'll be here...
Great breakdown of the song. I have always thought that Miku does not get enough credit for her guitar skills and really complements Kanami's shreding, granted in the early days she was still learning how to play and sing at the same time but over the past three years she has really come into her own. You can really hear and see it in the videos from the live show videos in February this year.
Every time I hear that descending run in the second verse it reminds me of something like Frank Zappa would have done back in the early 70's. 3:56 on this video and following runs as well. I love this song it is one of my favorites for sure.
Hey, that was an interesting insight
yes, they never dropped their pop-punk roots entirely, it's still present in a bunch of their recent songs also. and I love it.
You are not wrong with "Jimmy Eat World".
After their previous songs didn't get much success, one of the managers suggested to try something harder, which they did with "Thrill". And that one worked. After that they basically went to study "hard-rock" and listened to a ton of bands in a very short times. As I understand it, only MISA was somewhat familiar with the "new" genre. They are like swamps, Kanami definitely is. So you will hear some passages in their first own songs after "Alone", which will remind you of other bands/songs. I'm not saying, they straight up copied them... Let's just say, one particular song is very "familiar" sounding.
as some already mentioned, it's the first label-approved song which they were allowed. they said, that they have tried to get own songs approved and were rejected everytime. we'll never hear the previous songs they tried, so no hate on the label here, as it's still possible they sucked ;) with this one they tried a couple of times and rewritten/tweaked it many times, so in the end it worked out. video was released on a valentines day, titled "Alone" with their darker lyrics :D
after "Alone" they began to take more and more creative control, but even on last album or one of the later single-release they collaborated with "outsiders" ("Smile" was written by "Thrill"-guy f.e.), so they aren't keen to do everything themselves every-time. if the end-product benefits from it - who cares, right?
As for Miku - she gets all the love she deserves!
I would say they are all quite equally loved by the fans.
Everyone knows that she is the weakest member on the instrument. And she provides "mostly" backup-vocals. The love and admiration for Miku comes mostly from her "other" work. When you see the band live before you, you'll see that exactly she is bringing into. She is the MC, she is the one hyping up the audience (she did it in the beginning mostly alone, as Saiki was really shy and uncomfortable). She is the "face" of the band and promoted them nearly singlehandedly. She still is the main spokes-pigeon, still is the driving force behind them.
And I love her performance / playing - pure energy!
PS:
Miku was into Enka music, as she grew up with it. I would say, "Band Maiko" is most likely her idea. It's also a genius PR-move
Always a great reaction review, knowledgeable guy, cool
Alone is among my Favorite Songs by them. And with this Band its REALLY Hard to pick Favorites.
There were actually two songs on "Brand New Maid" authored by the band: Alone and Freedom.
Freedom is a song written and produced by Ichiro Iguchi, lyrics by Miku.
@@JuanSan66 Thanks. I had to go back and check. Sure enough...
Miku used to get soooo much hate from some fans, with some actually saying she was holding them back from having success & should just leave. I haven't heard those people for probably 2yrs now. Great reaction!!
Busser were you literally quoting what someone had said about Miku? I remember one such person saying those exact words about Miku that you used in your comment. The person seemed to have a personal hatred towards her, saying she was talentless & MISA, Kanami & Akane were the real musicians. I remember the comment had the most amount of replies I'd seen at the time. Thankfully I haven't seen anything posted by this person for a long time now. Hope you've got your ticket for Aug 16th :)
Hi Champ, "Real Existence" live on BAND-MAID's YT channel next please. Miku our little pigeon spreads her wings & gives you a hug.
Translation of a snippet of the Audio Commentary on the Shibuya Line Cube Concert last Feb 14, 2020
Miku: Now, I play the guitar in 'alone' completely in a different way compared with those old days. In those days, I could not play at all.
Kanami: Kobato could not play chords.
Miku: That's right. Now I play chords.
Kanami: In the old days, Kobato played only power cords.
Miku: As you said, I played power chords only.
Akane: You made progress.
Kanami: That's it. It seems that it was a very old time.
Thats so great. Im only good at powerchord. Damn it. Definitely will take Miku as an inspiration to improve my playing
How can anyone not love Miku? :) She's the creator and everything BAND-MAID, she's the boss, po!
“Play” official was uploaded a little while ago. Please check it out!
Since I've learn Miku has her own unique style of songwriting, She became that one rare breed of genius in song writing,
I suspect that each of them had more stashed in their song books (and training... and experience) than the studio, former and current, or management understood or trusted in.😎
And yes, Secret My Lips and Secret Maiko Lips please.
I vote for secret my lips followed by sercet maiko lips, it must be listen to in that order!!!
Just listened to another CZcamsr's reaction to BM's live version of Dragon Cries. I like the studio version and it was the first time hearing/watching a live version. The live version impressed me so much as it so much more dynamic and intense than the MV. It would be cool if you could do a reaction to both on the same upload as I'm sure that many Madiacs would be interested in your breakdown and reaction. After your Secret My Lips reaction is fine because I love that one as well.
Its a fun song, great reaction. Its not a song you see reacted to much, so really enjoyed it. You should try Rinne (MV) next just for a change of pace.
Captain A-chan, KanaMincho sensei, Misa Misa Misa, Queen Saiki, Little Pigeon Miku. :) these were still Kanami's AddicTone(pre-PRS) days :)
This is the first song that their first record label management allowed it to be included in their first full album. In fact they already written quite a number of songs that the management refused to record for them. This is also part of the many reasons why Miku decided to switch record label....
I've never seen or heard a better rhythm section than Akane, Misa, and Miku. Akane and Misa are world class and Miku has turned herself into world class on rhythm guitar/vocals. Real heartfelt props to Miku. Without her work on guitar, we would never be able to see the others shine as they do. I never thought it would happen, but Band-Maid are my favourite band of all time, knocking Led Zep off the perch. Joyous, incredible rock music of all styles, S tier writing, God tier playing, with every song a work of musical art. We're blessed to have them in our lives.
Secret My Lips is one of my personal favorites that doesn't seem to get as much attention as many other great songs. There is some outstanding dual vocal work on that one. Plus you could do a fun double song review by also checking out the April fools version of the song Secret Maiko Lips that they released. I'd recommend both highly.
Yep! You're hooked! ;-)
A couple of their MVs I think you'll really like...
1) Rinne - czcams.com/video/CQ9dbEVgZcA/video.html
Really hard-driving tempo. I've read an anecdote that for this one, Mincho asked A-chan what she thought she could do tempo/speed-wise. A-chan responded with something on the order of 175bpm. Then Mincho comes back to tell her she would need to do 190bpm for this one! :-D
2) Daydreaming - czcams.com/video/RCaeUkrItyY/video.html
beautifully shot video. Mincho has said that this was one her most challenging compositions, and that she loves playing it.
I appreciate that you highlighted Akane in your analysis of this song. I think you perfectly articulated what makes her so great. I rank her among some of the very best rock drummers I have ever heard.
If it tells you anything, Jimmy Page loves Akane. I wonder if MISA was even more up front since Miku was still learning to play. But yeah you have to wonder how much material they were sitting on when they were finally allowed to use it. They did say there were a lot of songs that never got a chance and never will since they were turned down. Miku is always my hero for making all of this happen..and she's the lyricist of the band not to mention just Miku being Miku. And this is the song where Kanami got her nickname "Tsunami". Miku - Kurrupo or Little Pigeon, MISA - barefoot assassin, Saiki - queen or ice queen Sai-Chan, Akane - gorilla or Ah-chan, and Kanami - Kanamincho (prefers Mincho) and Tsunami. Yes that was long and a bit randomly put together..had a few things I wanted to get through and didn't want to forget.
Nice videos. I discover Band Maid recently and your videos are great. One song i really like is "The non fiction days". Miku does a great job backing vocals in this song. Hope you find a live video of that song, Is so much better than the official clip, but is a great song though.
I'd imagine that even though this was their first song, they probably had an increasing hand in how their previous songs sounded. Miku and Saiki had done the lyrics for a couple of other songs on the album too.
I got goosebumps when I heard this song back in 2016.
Yes there is a live version from Zepp Tokyo 2017 if you can find it you might need help finding it. Both secret my lips are awesome if you want another heavy punk song try “The non fiction days “ MV or live it was the last of a two hour plus concert at zepp Tokyo. Now if you want to go down the metal side from Japan try Maximum The Hormone MV’s “Maximum the Hormone II” or “Hungry Pride” it will blow your mind.
Yeah, this... is top 5 Mincho Solos, IMO. Check out "Take Me Higher" for another world class one.
Miku the vocal ninja. She layered Saiki so well with lower register, sneaks in with unison, and perfected all of it with harmonizing. Her guitar skill also improving like crazy.
It probably isn’t really a coincidence... that we hve generally heard less of Miku’s voice as her guitar load has got heavier and heavier over the years.
Her mic was turned quite a bit up during their online concert on 23July! Probably will be similar on 16 Aug. it’d be nice to see you there!
Has anyone explained the whole Miku shtick? Miku Kobato is a pseudonym, Kobato means "little pigeon". She ends her sentences with "po" which is the Japanese onomatopoeia for what a pigeon says. During the concerts, while the others are taking a break, she works the crowd with her "Magic time" ( and has them chant "moe moe" and "kyun kyun". It is derived a from maid cafe ritual where they cast a magic spell over your food to make it taste better. Her English is limited but she charges ahead.
She actually once entered the crowd during one of the New York concerts, startling absolutely everybody. Usually she and Saiki do the radio and TV interviews together but Miku tends to talk the most. If the others are interviewed it usually with whole band though MISA got interviewed once by herself. czcams.com/video/nuP2K9-jlts/video.html